The Rock's 'Hercules' Release Date Bumped In Wake Of 'Guardians Of The Galaxy'

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It's an old studio technique to bump movies competing against other films guaranteed to make a killing at the box office to new release dates that will match them against "weaker" movies they have a better shot at faring well with. Studios have been using this trick often lately, trying hard to reschedule and get out of the way of the Marvel juggernaut the past few years. But with no less than four Marvel movies being all up on our screens in 2014, films are hard-pressed to find a release date that won't see them going head-to-head or riding in the wake of yet another Marvel blockbuster.

Still, that's not stopping Paramount from bumping the -directed Hercules (starring in the titular role) up from its original release date of August 8th, 2014 to July 25th, 2014. The move is designed so that the movie doesn't have to compete directly against Marvel Studio's little-known (yet) but much-hyped Guardians of the Galaxy.

Ironically enough, this puts Hercules in the wake of another Marvel franchise blockbuster, as X-Men: Days Of Future Past will have been released just a week prior. It will also face stiff competition in The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies. Still, Paramount seems to want to take its chances riding the coattails of those two films rather than square off directly against what's sure to be another box office-smashing success with Guardians.

Hercules is adapted from Radical Studio's graphic novel Hercules: The Thracian Wars: A thousand years ago, a tortured being walked the earth that was neither man nor god. He was Hercules, the son of the powerful god-king, Zeus - but for this, he had received nothing but suffering his entire life. After twelve arduous tasks and the death of his family, this tortured soul finally turned his back on the gods to find his solace in battle. Over time, he finds six equally tormented souls who are bonded by the fever of battle and the shadow of death. These mercenaries don't question their actions or their assignments, as long as they are paid. Soon, word of their prowess reaches the King of Thrace, who hires these wayward souls to train his men to be the greatest warriors of all time. When they have to train the army to become as ruthless and bloodthirsty as they have become, their eyes are opened to how far they have fallen.